This year I have discovered a wonderful learning tool: My iPad. My husband would probably say that I'm addicted to it, but I
think that's okay in this case because it's just awesome! I am seeing the progress my own
children are making with it and I am just astounded! I also use it at school, including it as a center rotation
of sorts. Of course, with a few
minutes a couple of times a week, you just aren't able to see the gains that I
see day in and day out at home.
But, there are some great, standards based materials out there, so I
KNOW they are learning!
Anyway, that brings me to the list of a few awesome
educational apps that I have found.
These are favorites of mine, as well as the children. They keep students engaged with the
material and address the Common Core Standards (for kindergarten, in my case),
as well. The links found below are for the iPad, iPod touch, etc., but many can also be found for the Android. I don't know about others, but you could always do a search. Just click on the title of each app to take a look!
MATH APPS
This was one of the very first apps I bought, simply because
my own children love this show. I
like the show, too, because it covers so many math concepts in a fun way. The app is exactly the same. It has students practicing number
identification, one-to-one correspondence, addition, and number comparison. In my opinion, this is a must buy for
anyone with children/students in preschool/kindergarten.
This is just super engaging. Even my 2-year-old is drawn to these games (there's one for
reading, as well). It has students
practicing addition, patterns, sequencing, and more. Fun, fun, fun!
McGraw- Hill Games (When you click on this link, another game pops up, but you can look for other apps by McGraw-Hill.)
I bought 3 of these:
1) Monster Squeeze, a game where students practice number
recognition and compare numbers.
2) Tric-Trac, an addition game with a make-it-harder
twist. I think this is even fun
for adults!
3) Top-It, an addition card game. Students can also identify numbers that are greater than,
less than, or equal to one another.
These are just perfect partner games for the classroom or
home.
READING
APPS
I don't know if you have taken a look at the cut-and-glue sentences I have available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, but this app does essentially the same thing. It scrambles the words so that the student has to arrange them to make a sentence. This app has 4 different levels of play, so it would work well for PreK to 2nd. I use it A LOT in the classroom.
This app is just wonderful for little ones who are just learning to merge sounds to make words. It has students make words by dragging letter tiles to the correct spot as it says each sound. You can set it so students have to place the letters in left-to-right order, which is perfect!
I love this app because you can add your own words! It comes with lists of words and has students drag tiles or type the letters to spell each word. You can make your own word lists to target sight words or spelling words or create lists of different levels.
SCIENCE APPS
It's perfect for kindergarten science! This app covers living/nonliving, plants, the water cycle, sink or float, five senses, and the seasons---all in a fun and engaging way. My students go back to it again and again!
Nickelodeon hits the nail on the head again! My son (4) absolutely LOVES this app! It covers animal characteristics and habitats.
Well, there are a few for you and your students to check out. I hope you are all having as much fun with your tablets and iPads as I am having with mine!
